and was hosted in Diergaarde Blijdorp until they arrived. In the Netherlands In Leiden, Dolf was charged with the education of undergraduates in Systematic Zoology. In 1969 he received his Ph.D. with the thesis '‘Studies on the land molluscs of Zululand with notes on the distribution of land molluscs in Southern Africa’'. His supervisor was Prof. Dr Leo Brongersma, director of the Rijksmuseum van Natuurlijke Historie. Dolf arrived at the rise of The Roaring Sixties at the university, with students claiming more say and quickly becoming on familiar terms with their teachers. However, for most students he remained ‘Dr van Bruggen’ until they had finished their Ph.D. and were found to be at the same level. Nonetheless, his lectures were highly appreciated and much to his own surprise he was once voted "most popular teacher". Students received his almost yearly excursions to Antwerp Zoo with much enthusiasm. Although officially employed by the University, his actual place of work was a few minutes away at the Rijksmuseum van Natuurlijke Historie. This enabled him to consult the extensive library and to work with the collection of the museum. Each year he and Wenda travelled to London, to visit the Natural History Museum and meet colleagues and friends. Besides his work he devoted much time to organisations which he felt needed his support. The Dutch Malacological Society (Nederlandse Malacologische Vereniging, NMV) benefitted most from his energy, where he served as Secretary (1953–1956), interim President (1970–1972) and Treasurer (1983–1986) on the Board. Incidentally, Wenda served also as Treasurer of the NMV during several years. Dolf was editor of the Correspondentieblad (1951–1953) and, after a short interruption, again from 1954 to 1956. Moreover, he acted for more than 40 years as editor and editor-in-chief of Basteria, scientific journal of the Dutch Malacological Society (from 1968 to present). He was elected Honorary Member of the Society in 1999. Furthermore, he was President of the successful 7th International Malacological Congress in Amsterdam (1977), organized on behalf of Unitas Malacologica, the international organisation of malacologists. From 1989 to 1999, Dolf was chairman of the Netherlands Commission for International Nature Conservation, also serving as editor of its communications. Furthermore, he devoted energy to the Netherlands Zoological Society, the (former) Netherlands Foundation for Biological Research and the Dutch/Belgian Mammal Society. His interest in zoos is also demonstrated by his huge collection of zoo guides, for which he built a network